The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester

Minor, a retired American surgeon who had served in the Civil War, was one of thousands of contributors who submitted illustrative quotations of words to be used in the dictionary.

Professor James Murray, a former schoolmaster and bank clerk, was the brilliant editor of the OED project.ĭr. But hidden within the rituals of its creation is a fascinating and mysterious story of a friendship-an account of two remarkable men whose strange 20-year relationship lies at the core of this historic undertaking. The creation of the Oxford English Dictionary began in 1857, took 70 years to complete, drew from tens of thousands of brilliant minds, and organized the sprawling language into 414,825 precise definitions. It is known as one of the greatest literary achievements in the history of English letters. The summary and analysis in this ebook are intended to complement your reading experience and bring you closer to a great work of nonfiction.The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, & the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary Wittily eloquent and historically incisive, The Professor and the Madman is the portrait of a friendship and, by extension, of the greatest dictionary ever created in the English language. Recounting the unlikely bond between a criminally insane American Civil War veteran and the renowned Scottish editor of the OED, the enchanting story of their relationship illuminates the decades of the dictionary’s compilation-from A to Z. Simon Winchester’s The Professor and the Madman is the remarkable tale of two Victorian-era scholars, the English language, and the making of the Oxford English Dictionary. This short summary and analysis of The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester includes:Historical contextChapter-by-chapter summariesDetailed timeline of key eventsImportant quotesFascinating triviaSupporting material to enhance your understanding of the original work About The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester:

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